Hailing from Chişinău, the capital of Moldova, Walk Alone have a number of releases under their belt now.
Their first recording, Stranglehold EP, was released back in 2013, followed by a 2014 demo and the excellent Warm-Blooded seven-tracker in 2016. And now these East European folks are back with two new songs (if you don’t count the intro) that I find really enjoyable.
Musically, Walk Alone draw a huge influence from the mid-80s crossover thrash and stomps the line between D.R.I. and NYHC bands like Krakdown and Agnostic Front. Their sound is rock-solid and catchy with plenty of good riffs, heavy breakdowns and a sick guitar solo at the end of the first track. Every song so far is a banger with a strong emphasis on songwriting. The Russian accent is still present despite years of singing in English but it’s all part of the experience when you find a band from this part of the world.
Don’t expect anything groundbreaking on the level of Power Trip and so on, but it’s great to hear such a well-played, zero frills DIY thrash / hardcore coming from a place like Moldova. Walk Alone are heavily involved in their small local scene and members of the the band were among the few active people to make hardcore punk gigs happen in Chişinău before the pandemic. Big respect.